TORONTO – It is becoming one of the league’s best 1-on-1 matchups: Vince Carter against Latrell Sprewell. But Spree wanted to make sure that nobody is comparing the flight paths of “Air Canada” to “Air Jordan.”

“Nobody’s Mike,” Sprewell said before last night’s Knick-Raptor game here. “Let me just say that right now, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the greatest ever. Vince is up-and-coming and is going to do some great things for the league. But there’s only one Michael Jordan.”

The high-flying Carter was grounded in the playoffs against the Knicks last spring, with Spree shearing off his wings. Carter has come back badder than ever this season, averaging 28.4 points per game and shooting 48.1 percent.

Carter has beaten up Spree in the regular season, though, and enjoys the battle.

“I respect Latrell, period,” Carter said. “I’m a big fan of him. I just love playing against him. I don’t want to get into how tough it is, but it’s a joy. That’s the kind of matchup I enjoy. The person is going to go at you and don’t take it personally at the end of the day. You can laugh, joke after the game, whatever. I’ve been a big fan of him for a long time. We have great battles like that and it’s something I look forward to.”

Spree believes the playoff series against Toronto made him more comfortable defending Carter.

“That helps, the more you play a person, the more you become familiar with tendencies and what they like doing,” Sprewell said. “That playoff experience did help a little. But he’s recognized how to score when getting doubled. He’s got a knack getting up shots even with two guys on him. When you score with two guys on you, you’re doing some great things on the floor. A lot of it has to do with what kind of night he’s having instead of what you’re doing defensively.”

Carter became surly when the Knick playoff series was raised yesterday. He shot 30 percent in the three-game sweep.

“I don’t care to remember it,” Carter said. “It’s a new season, new team, new opportunities. My confidence is high. I don’t look that far back. I’ve always been taught to look ahead. I don’t want people get caught up in oh, this is what happened in playoffs but you did this to them in the regular season. No, it’s about tonight.”

Van Gundy talks more about Carter’s perimeter game than the slash and dunk plays that make SportsCenter. The Knicks, perhaps for fear of getting beaten off the dribble, have in the past given Carter too much room at the perimeter to knock down shots.

“We need to take away his airspace at the perimeter, he’s a great, great 3-point shooter,” Jeff Van Gundy said.